Yesterday's 34-28 victory by the Eagles over the St. Louis Rams really was a tale of two games: the one in which the Eagles built a 34-7 lead and the one in which the Rams then scored 21 unanswered points.

This is the starting point for this week's Monday Morning Quarterback entry, which asks (and attempts to answer) five lingering questions from the Eagles' latest adventure.

1. Should defensive coordinator Billy Davis have not taken his foot off the gas when it came to sending extra pass rushers at inexperienced quarterback Austin Davis?

The simple answer is yes. But there's more to it than that. A 34-7 lead with two minutes to go in the third quarter should allow you to soften things up and make the opponent earn it, no matter what level of football you're talking. That the Eagles failed at this really was the fault of their outside cornerbacks, Bradley Fletcher and Cary Williams, who suddenly began to play as if they were starting for just the third time in their career, not Davis.

The fact is, when individual players fail so spectacularly, there's not a lot the coaches can do.

Replacing them is a possibility, but the only other options on the active roster are Nolan Carroll, who's still battling nagging injuries and is nowhere near 100 percent; Brandon Boykin, who's such a great playmaker inside; and rookie Jaylen Watkins, who's simply not ready to contribute yet and might not be until next season, if ever.

(MICHAEL KUBEL \ THE MORNING CALL)

2. Should head coach Chip Kelly have not kept his foot on the gas of the offense, continuing to push the pace and lengthening the game?

This answer seems a little more clear-cut here: No.

Kelly seems reluctant to behave this way except late in the fourth quarter, when sitting on a lead. But again, 34-7 late in the third should also qualify.

Yes, the play of their defense did not help matters after the Eagles looked like they were going to romp, but keeping in mind how limited the defense is anyway, why not shorten the game at that point and not keeping snapping the ball with 15 seconds or more still left on the play clock?

3. Has running back LeSean McCoy begun to lose it?

No, no, no. A thousand times no.

You can criticize the sixth-year back for his running style -- he goes for the home run too much, too often trying to make something out of nothing -- and might have a point.

But him "appearing" to look a step slower hitting the holes is just that: an appearance. It's not reality.

That last year's NFL rushing leader only has 273 yards after five games has everything to do with blocking and defensive schemes and nothing to do with whether he should have gone for the sure 3 yards at certain times instead of trying to break off 10 or more with lateral movement.

See Sanders, Barry.

4. Has quarterback Nick Foles regressed?

After all, he's a much more pedestrian 120-for-203 with 1,380 yards and eight TDs against five interceptions this year.

Again, a thousand times no.

If anything, he's a better quarterback than he was a year ago, when he had the finest running game in the land and a better receiving corps than this this year helping him out.

The feeling here is that last year's Nick Foles wouldn't have this year's kind of record being plugged into this year's team.

For every receiver he misses and questionable decision he makes, such as diving head-first to end a 14-yard run that put them in field-goal range in the fourth quarter, resulting in a fumble that changed the complexion of the game, he does three or four positive but subtle things that very few others in this league deliver as consistently.

His ability to see over trouble with his 6-foot-6 frame and shake off pressure in the pocket is priceless. The tradeoffs are still worth it.

There are no more than a handful of quarterbacks in the league today who would have as much success as Foles is having with this offense and all its injury problems up front.